On Saturday night, UFC will present UFC 248, featuring two championship fights. The main event sees “The Last Stylebender” Israel Adesanya face Yoel Romero in a UFC Middleweight Championship fight. The co-main has Zhang Weili put her UFC Strawweight Championship up against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Follow the action from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, throughout the night on this blog post.
The article will update after every bout. To be notified every time an update happens, make sure to follow on Twitter.
Quick Results – Click a fight to skip to it’s part:
Early Prelims (6:30PM EST / 3:30PM PST) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Danaa Batgerel def. Guido Cannetti via KO, Left Hook (RD 1, 3:01)
Bout 2: Giga Chikadze def. Jamall Emmers via Decision, Split
Prelims (8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST) (ESPN / TSN 5)
Bout 3: Gerald Meerschaert def. Deron Winn via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:13)
Bout 4: Rodolfo Vieira def. Saparbeg Safarov via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 1, 2:58)
Bout 5: Mark Madsen def. Austin Hubbard via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Sean O’Malley def. Jose Alberto Quinones via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:02)
Main Card (10:00PM EST / 7:00PM PST) (PPV)
Bout 7: Alex Oliveira def. Max Griffin via Decision, Split
Bout 8: Neil Magny def. Li Jingliang via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Beneil Dariush def. Drakkar Klose via KO, Overhand Left (RD 2, 1:00)
Bout 10: Zhang Weili def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk via Decision, Split (UFC Strawweight Championship)
Bout 11: Israel Adesanya def. Yoel Romero via Decision, Unanimous (UFC Middleweight Championship)
Live Coverage:
Bout 1: Guido Cannetti (8-4) vs. Danaa Batgerel (7-2) (Bantamweight)
Kicking off the two-fight early prelim card, Guido Cannetti and Danaa Batgerel battled. Batgerel fell from a leg kick to start the round. Batgerel was catching Cannetti with some hard hooks. Cannetti was staying on the outside of the octagon. Another leg kick dropped Batgerel in the third minute. Cannetti was dropped by a hard left hook in the fourth minute. He went out cold, with the referee stepping in eventually. In his American MMA debut, Danaa Batgerel gets an explosive win.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Cannetti | ||||
| Batgerel |
Bout 2: Jamall Emmers (17-4) vs. Giga Chikadze (8-2) (Featherweight)
The second bout of the evening saw MMA veteran Jamall Emmers make his UFC debut, fighting former GLORY kickboxer Giga Chikadze. Chikadze rocked Emmers with a right hand in the first minute. It made Emmers drop to a knee for a second. They continued to strike from a distance, which gave Chikadze an advantage. Right before the bell went, both fighters threw a spinning strike that slightly landed. They got in eachothers faces before heading to their corners.
The first minute of the fight was a close striking battle, as Emmers was landing a little more than before. Emmers got a takedown in the second minute of the second round. Chikadze reversed the position before standing back up. A pause came after Emmers got poked in the eye accidentally during a striking exchange. It didn’t take long for the fight to continue. Emmers got hurt from a left hand with two minutes to go. Emmers clinched up, putting Chikadze against the cage. They went back to stand-up with less than a minute to go.
In the first minute of the final round, the corner of Emmers was telling him to finish Chikadze. The first round was another striking battle, with both fighters landing good strikes. Emmers looked like the fresher fighter in this round. Emmers scored a takedown with under a minute left. Emmers landed some strikes from above before the round ended. Going to the judges, Giga Chikadze walked away with a split decision win (29-28 Emmers, 29-28 Chikadze & 29-28 Chikadze).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Chikadze | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| Emmers | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
Bout 3: Deron Winn (6-1) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (30-12) (Middleweight)
Switching to the ESPN prelims, Deron Winn fought Gerald Meerschaert. Yesterday at the ceremonial weigh-ins, the fighters got in each other’s faces. Meerschaert had a large height and reach advantage. In the first 20 seconds of the fight, a kick to the groin of Winn caused a pause. Winn got a trip takedown from a clinch in the second minute. Winn stood back up, allowing Meerschaert to get up as well. Winn pushed forward with strikes. Meerscahert had success at a distance, throwing singular jabs and hooks. Discolouration around Meerschaert’s right eye started to show. They stayed on the feet for the entire round.
Meerschaert had a good start in the second round, out-striking Winn from a distance. The flashes of offense that Winn had in the first round weren’t shown in this. Meerschaert was chasing down Winn with strikes in the final minute of the round.
Winn landed a good two-punch combination in the first minute of the third round, clearly hurting Meerschaert. Winn got hurt in the second minute of the round. Meerschaert was chasing after Winn, throwing lots of strikes. He put in a guillotine choke on Winn. Going to the ground, Meerschaert got on Winn’s back, putting in a rear naked choke to get the tap. Capitalizing on a hurt Deron Winn, Gerald Meerschaert got back in the win column.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Winn | 10 | 9 | ||
| Meerschaert | 9 | 10 |
Bout 4: Rodolfo Vieira (6-0) vs. Saparbeg Safarov (9-2) (Middleweight)
The first of many fights that saw undefeated fighters was Rodolfo Vieira facing Saparbeg Safarov. Safarov landed some strikes in the first minute that hurt Vieira. Seconds later, Vieira got a takedown, however Safarov got up moments later. Vieira got the fight back down, taking the back of Safarov. Vieira was bleeding a little around his left eye. Safarov flipped over, letting Vieira put in an arm triangle choke from full mount. Safarov tapped out quickly, giving Vieira the win. Completely owning the fight on the ground, Rodolfo Vieira moved to seven wins as a pro. After the fight, Vieira’s left eye was completely swollen shut.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Vieira | ||||
| Safarov |
Bout 5: Mark Madsen (9-0) vs. Austin Hubbard (11-3) (Lightweight)
Olympics Greco-Roman silver medalist Mark Madsen fought Austin Hubbard in the next fight. In the first minute of the fight, Madsen got ahold of Hubbard. He suplexed Hubbard hard. Madsen stayed on Hubbard’s back. Hubbard eventually worked his way to his feet, going back to striking with half of the round left. Madsen got a trip takedown from a body lock. Madsen tried for a choke, not fully getting it. They got back up with 30 seconds left.
A minute into the second round, Madsen got a single leg takedown. As Hubbard stood up, Madsen got on his back. He threw him down once, although Hubbard escaped the wrestling when he got up the second time. Madsen got another takedown with half of the round left. He landed some hammerfist strikes on the ground this time. They got back up with a minute to go in the round.
Hubbard had a good knee and punch to start the third round, although Madsen got a takedown seconds later. A minute into the fight, Hubbard landed a head kick which hurt Madsen. Madsen got ahold of Hubbard and held onto him. Hubbard continued to land good singular shots in stand-up. Madsen got the fight to the ground again with two minutes to go. They got up with a minute left. Madsen caught a knee in the final minute, failing to do anything with it. Hubbard scored with elbows in the closing seconds. The fight ran out of time, needing judges to find a winner. With a unanimous decision, Mark Madsen remained undefeated (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Madsen | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| Hubbard | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
Bout 6: Jose Alberto Quinones (8-3) vs. Sean O’Malley (10-0) (Bantamweight)
Finishing off the prelims, undefeated “Sugar” Sean O’Malley made his long awaited return to fight Jose Alberto Quinones. O’Malley dropped Quinonez with a front kick to open the first round. In the second minute, O’Malley landed an overhand right to the head. Quinonez got hurt from a punch. O’Malley landed a head kick, then an uppercut to a downed Quinonez. O’Malley finished Quinones on the ground with strikes. After more than a year layoff, Sean O’Malley continued his undefeated MMA career.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Quinonez | ||||
| O’Malley |
Bout 7: Alex Oliveira (20-8-1) vs. Max Griffin (15-7) (Welterweight)
Kicking off the main card, Alex Oliveira and Max Griffin looked to get back to the win column. Oliviera got hurt in the third minute of the fight, clinching to recover. Griffin got a takedown from the clinch. They stood up with 30 seconds to go. Griffin got another takedown, but they got up seconds later. Oliveira was seemingly trying for a kimura while being taken down for a moment. Oliveira landed a knee when they exited clinch.
Oliveira clinched up a minute into the second round. A cut opened on Griffin’s face which caused a pause in the fight for a referee to look at it. After having the cut cleaned up a little, the fight resumed. Griffin tried for a takedown with two minutes to go, however Oliveira stopped it. They both tried for takedowns for the rest of the round.
Oliveira clinched up in the first minute of the third round. Before he clinched, he landed a few good strikes. He got top position on the ground. The bleeding continued for Griffin, possibly going into his right eye. Oliveira went into full mount, landing some strikes. Griffin was able to flip into top position with two minutes to go. Griffin landed short distance strikes from the top. The fight went to the scorecards, with Alex Oliveira getting the split decision win (29-28 Griffin, 29-28 Oliveira & 29-28 Oliveira).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Oliveira | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 |
| Griffin | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
Bout 8: Neil Magny (21-7) vs. Li Jingliang (17-5) (Welterweight)
In the next fight, Neil Magny made his return to the octagon, facing Li Jingliang, who is on a three-fight win streak. After a minute or so of close striking, Li tried for a takedown. Exiting the clinch Magny got hurt from a punch. Magny got a takedown from a clinch. They got back up against the fence. They separated with a minute and a half to go. Li got a takedown from the clinch with a minute to go. They went back up only seconds later. Magny had a good combination of knees and an elbow in the clinch.
Magny started with quick strikes in the second round. In a clinch, Magny landed some punches. He got a takedown from the clinch with two minutes left in the round. They got up quickly after, with Magny on Li’s back throwing punches. Magny closed the round by landing maybe a dozen punches before landing a takedown.
After a minute and a half of striking to start the final round, Magny tried, and failed, to get a takedown. While Li was answering with some strikes in the stand-up, Magny was landing more often. Magny clinched up again with two minutes to go. He got a takedown with just over a minute to go. In half guard, Magny landed many punches to the head. They got up as the fight ran out of time. When going to the judges, there was no doubt that Neil Magny would get the win (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27). After the fight, Magny called out Michael Chiesa.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Magny | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Jingliang | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Bout 9: Beneil Dariush (17-4-1) vs. Drakkar Klose (11-1-1) (Lightweight)
In the final non-title fight, Beneil Dariush and Drakkar Klose put their three-fight win streaks on the line against each other. After both fighters landed some shots in the first minute, Dariush got a takedown. They got back up, where Dariush tried to get Klose back down. Klose grabbed the fence many times to resist takedown. Dariush hopped on Klose’s back, trying for a rear naked choke. He let the choke go, throwing some punches to the head. He went back to the choke for a few more moments. Dariush stayed on Klose until the round ended.
Klose scored with hard punches early in the second round. Dariush was rocked, but throwing bombs in his own right. Dariush landed an overhand right that rocked Klose. Charging forward, Dariush scored with an overhand left which dropped Klose, making his mouthpiece fall out, ending the fight. In one of the most hectic exchanges of the night, Beneil Darius came close to losing and fully achieved winning.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Dariush | 10 | |||
| Klose | 9 |
Bout 10: Zhang Weili (20-1) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-3) (#4) (UFC Strawweight Championship)
In the first of a championship double header, UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili attempted to make the first defence of her belt against former champ, Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Striking was slow to start. Jedrzejczyk was the first to connect with a hard punch. She looked comfortable, smiling after they both threw strikes. Zhang scored with a good right hand in the third minute. They had these exchanges where they would both throw three or four strikes. It felt like as the round progressed, the momentum shifted from Jedrzejczyk to Zhang. Zhang was walking down Jedrzejczyk as the round was closing out. Jedrzejczyk landed a jab a second after the horn went.
The second round had more fast-paced combinations. Zhang was the first to shoot for a takedown, with Jedrzejczyk being able to keep it to a clinch. Zhang landed elbows in the clinch while Jedrzejczyk threw knees. They went back to striking with half of the round to go. Jedrzejczyk got rocked by a right cross. It was one of the hardest shots Zhang landed so far. Zhang got a takedown, however they got back up seconds later. Jedrzejczyk clinched up with Zhang as the round ended. Zhang was carried to her corner when the round ended.
Jedrzejczyk picked up her striking in the third round, connecting more early on. She switched to southpaw in this round. Zhang clinched up with two minutes to go. She got a takedown, but could never keep Jedrzejczyk on the ground for more than a few seconds. Zhang got a takedown from catching a leg kick, but they got up again. A huge hematoma appeared on Jedrzejczyk’s forehead as the round was closing out. Jedrzejczyk scored with good punches again as the round closed out. They clinched up as the round ran out of time.
The fourth round started with more hectic striking. Jedrzejczyk was connecting good with knees in the clinch. This was a really close round, with the fighters almost taking turns with punches. They clinched up with just over a minute to go. Jedrzejczyk scored with an elbow before the clinch. The damage was showing on both fighters, however Jedrzejczyk’s hematoma was much larger at this point.
They hugged to start the fifth round. Just like in all of the rounds before, they picked up where they left off with striking. Zhang, who had never been in a five round fight before, still matched Jedrzejczyk’s cardio. A shot bent Jedrzejczyk’s nose at some point in the round. They both got rocked by punches in the third minute. Jedrzejczyk landed a spinning backfist in the final seconds. After numerous punches, they clinched up. The fight went the distance after 25 minutes of exchanging hard shots. Both of them were wearing the damage. When going to the judges, a split decision went in favour of Zhang Weili (48-47 Jedrzejczyk, 48-47 Zhang & 48-47 Zhang).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Zhang | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 48 |
| Jedrzejczyk | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 47 |
Bout 11: Israel Adesanya (18-0) vs. Yoel Romero (13-4) (#3) (UFC Middleweight Championship)
The main event of UFC 248 saw undefeated UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya fight Yoel Romero. Romero opened the fight by standing in a spot, not moving. In the first two minutes of the fight, no strikes were landed. Romero started to move in the second minute. In the fourth minute, Romero landed an overhand left which connected hard. Adesanya seemed bothered with an eye after that strike. Romero landed a switch kick to the body in the final minute. Adesanya didn’t connect with much in this round beside leg kicks.
Romero countered with a left hand in the first minute of the second round which echoed. Romero tripped Adesanya with a leg kick in the third minute, coming forward with a few punches as Adesanya got his balance about him. They continued to fight at a slow pace until the round ended.
The pace of the rounds before carried through to the third round. The crowd was booing throughout. The crowd started to turn on their cellphone lights, waving them in the crowd.
Before the fourth round started, the referee told them to “give the judges something to score.” Adesanya continued to throw kicks frequently. Romero was accidentally poked in the eye halfway through the round. The crowd was upset at this, but didn’t have much reaction when a replay showed the clear poke. A doctor was brought in the cage to look at Romero’s eye. The fight resumed after a minute or so. Romero got a takedown for a moment when they started back up, however Adesanya was quick to get up. The leg kicks were starting to add up, as damage was showing on Romero’s lead leg. Romero shot for another takedown in the final minute, not really grabbing Adesanya on the way in.
Romero scored with another overhand left in the first minute of the final round. Like the rounds before, Adesanya’s leg kicks were landing. Romero caught a leg kick and tried for a combination in the fourth minute, however Adesanya ran away. They got in eachother’s faces after the horn went. The crowd was split between cheers and boos after it ended. After 25 slow paced minutes, the fight went to the judges. In a unanimous decision, Israel Adesanya made the first defence of his belt (48-47, 48-47 & 49-46).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Adesanya | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 47 |
| Romero | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 48 |
Knockdown News 